We were going to save this one for next week, but there's something so infectiously likeable about 'Merriment and Dirt', that I thought we should bump it up the queue - and anyway there's a whole stack of new releases on the list for next week already. So these guys are a 4 piece based between Helsinki and London, and they seem to have arrived there Belgrade and Berlin - or possibly the other way around, not that we really care that much anyway.
So 'Merriment and Dirt', comprise Milena Solomun (guitar and vocals), Budi (drums, bass and keyboard), K.C. McKanzie (guitar and back vocals) and Matu Kormano (bass), and the songs in the whole enterprise are written by songwriter Milena, who also has some lo-fi songs of her own released, which you can listen to if you follow the links at the bottom of the page. That 'lo-fi' spirit is evident in the 'Merriment and Dirt' debut EP, with my favourite being 'Little Worries', which has an irresistible charm about it, the most laid back vocals ever, accompanied by a gentle cacophony (if that's possible) of indie pop punk noise. And the lyrics are just sensationally dour - 'You're worried about the coffee being not quite right, but its all going to be much worse''. And the wonderful thing is, that they're absolutely right.
The EP opens with 'Final Boogie', which revels in the same level of dark humour, considering ''we do kind of like it, the world.... but we won't stop to smash it up'', and I just find the lyrics totally engrossing. 'Limit' almost breaks out into a melody of sorts, and the whole thing has this slightly warped messy feel that just seems to make it even more endearing.
Anyway this is the fabulous video to 'Little Worries', which is great fun and very possibly filmed in Kilburn, London.